Jalan Malioboro is the city's north-south axis through the city centre, conceived by Sultan Hamengkubuwono I (late 18C), to link the kraton, the seat of power, with Merapi Volcano. Its incessant traffic and queues of becak (rickshaws) and its multitude of boutiques, restaurants and craft shops constitute the beating heart of Yogyakarta. Not far from Fort Vredeburg, a former Dutch barracks, is the covered, aromatic market of Pasar Beringharjo, rich in shimmering batiks.